Holmes: "I have no data yet. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one
has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories
to suit facts."

— Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,A Scandal in Bohemia

Parapsychologists differ considerably about the "facts" of their trade, but there is
a fairly solid core of beliefs on which most of them agree. They are convinced
that psi powers (ESP and PK) are possessed in some degree by everybody, and
to a high degree by a few. Almost all agree that psi forces are independent of
time and distance. (ESP is defined here as the alleged ability to perceive or sense
by means other than the known physical senses. PK is defined here as mind over
matter—the alleged ability to move or alter objects by paranormal means.)

There is, of course, no way they can be sure that extrasensory perception
(ESP) and psychokinesis (PK) are manifestations of a single power. Even ESP
(which includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition) may, from their point
of view, be a name for several kinds of interactions. However, parapsychologists
have always been partial to the notion that a single force is responsible for both
ESP and PK. If so, what kind of force is it?

Modern physics recognizes four fundamental forces: gravity, electromagnetism, and the weak and strong nuclear forces. All are field phenomena with
strengths that diminish with distance. As J. B. Rhine perceived early in the game,
there is no reasonable way that any such force can explain the peculiar indifference of psi to distance and time. Moreover, electromagnetism, long a
favorite among early researchers, seems ruled out by experiments that show that

____________________

Reprinted from Science and the Paranormal, edited by
George 0. Abell and
Barry Singer ( New
York: Scribner's, 1983), with the permission of the Estate of George 0. Abell.

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